Wales: Smoking ban in cars carrying children to be put to vote

A vote on banning people from smoking in cars when children are present is to take place in the Welsh Assembly. Offenders face a £50 fixed penalty from October if the latest measure to crack down on the harm caused by second-hand smoke in Wales is approved today.

Currently, people are allowed to smoke in private vehicles but a vote in favour of the measure will ban it if anyone under the age of 18 is on board. A ban on smoking in cars carrying children has already been approved for England.

People ‘don’t trust’ the tobacco industry

Data from the Smokefree Britain survey, conducted in the North-East by YouGov, found that 80 per cent agree tobacco companies should be required to disclose the amount spent on lobbying politicians, front groups and promoting their products – only three per cent disagree.

It also found that 75 per cent of adults in the North-East support the view that all government health policy should be protected from the influence of the tobacco industry and its representatives.

Half of all councils with public health responsibility have now signed the Local Government Declaration, pioneered by Newcastle City Council, confirming they will act to protect health policies from the vested interests of tobacco companies, in line with the UK’s obligations under the international World Health Organisation treaty on tobacco: the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

West of England: Tackling illegal tobacco

Nearly a quarter of smokers in Bristol and the Somerset area are buying illegal tobacco, but this week that is going to get harder to do.

Police, trading standards and HMRC are working together for a week of raids on sellers.

Trading standards and enforcement officers will be joined by specially trained tobacco detection dogs who can sniff out illegal tobacco wherever it is concealed, often hidden behind fake walls or in unusual locations.

Canada: Tobacco firms to pay billions in damages

A Canadian court has ordered three tobacco companies to pay C$15.5bn (£8bn) – the largest award for damages in the country’s history.

The plaintiffs were Quebec smokers who said the firms failed to warn them of health risks associated with smoking. Imperial Tobacco Canada, Rothmans Benson & Hedges and JTI-MacDonald vowed to appeal against the decision

All forms of smoking are bad for the heart

The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) has warned that all forms of smoking are bad for the heart.

Studies also suggest that waterpipe smoking, also referred to as shisha and hookah, may be associated with even greater toxin exposure because sessions are longer and involve more and larger “puffs”, leading to smoke inhalation as much as 100 times more than from a cigarette.

On World No Tobacco Day, United Nations launches fight against illicit tobacco trade to save lives

The elimination of the world’s illicit tobacco trade will not only save millions of lives but also generate billions of dollars in windfall for governments, the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) announced as it marked the 2015 edition of World No Tobacco Day.

The Protocol, a supplementary treaty to the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, requires a wide range of measures relating to the tobacco supply chain, including the licensing of imports, exports and manufacture of tobacco products; the establishment of tracking and tracing systems and the imposition of penal sanctions on those responsible for illicit trade. It would also criminalise illicit production and cross border smuggling.

Smokers and those exposed to passive smoke require more anesthetic and painkiller during operations

Research published at this year’s Euroanaesthesia meeting in Berlin (30 May-2 June) shows that both smokers and those exposed to passive smoke require more anaesthetic and painkillers to reach the same level of anaesthesia as non-smokers.

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